Topic: Test Drive: 2011 BMW X5 xDrive50i

[Autos_Editor]

The 2011 BMW X5 is more for enthusiast drivers than commuters, says Contributing Editor Chris Chase, who notes a touchy throttle and firm steering. His tester's twin-turbo V8 is one of two engines new to the X5 for 2011.

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[Rolf]

One cannot fault BMW for creating/supplying a market to maximize profit- but what a bloated, ugly, inefficient Non-Ultimate Driving Machine. This, from the company that once produced the elegant E9 and Neue Klasse, the ferocious 2002tii and M1- and even today produces (but does not sell in NA) the astonishing 5Series Touring.   

[ovr50]

One cannot fault BMW for creating/supplying a market to maximize profit- but what a bloated, ugly, inefficient Non-Ultimate Driving Machine. This, from the company that once produced the elegant E9 and Neue Klasse, the ferocious 2002tii and M1- and even today produces (but does not sell in NA) the astonishing 5Series Touring.   

And still produces the M3, you could add.....

I do not find it ugly at all, and if I were in the market for this type of vehicle, it would be the X5 or the Porsche Cayenne. I have driven the current X5, but with the 3L twin-scroll turbo engine (the 35i model) and found it surprisingly responsive. These are heavy trucks, but that goes with the territory; and all competitors in this area are similarly heavy.

I think the new upcoming X3 will be the better vehile tho, especially for urban driving. Maybe I'll get one....

[5 Wheel Drive]

I don't think this is ugly at all either.  I would take this over a Cayenne.  However, I would rather have a 5 series touring over both of these.

[lebowski]

"If performance and utility were my parallel priorities, I’d always choose a 5 Series Touring wagon over any performance-biased crossover"

"This V8 X5 is fun, but the perfect X5 is the diesel model, because it puts the emphasis on the sporty things you can drive to in your SUV, rather than trying to make the SUV sporty."

I couldn't agree more. But as BMW has dropped the 5-Touring for NA, it looks like the smartest purchase would indeed be the diesel.

[Ken]

The E class wagon is about $5000 more than the ML class, so if BMW brings the 5 series touring to NA, I think it will be more expensive
than the X5 too.  The platform for the E and the 5, probably dictates the price for the wagon.  Where as the X5 and the ML class are built
on a lesser/cheaper platform. 

[lebowski]

The E class wagon is about $5000 more than the ML class, so if BMW brings the 5 series touring to NA, I think it will be more expensive
than the X5 too.  The platform for the E and the 5, probably dictates the price for the wagon.  Where as the X5 and the ML class are built
on a lesser/cheaper platform. 

That is interesting. I didn't realize the X-series was a cheaper platform than the 5-series. If that is indeed the case, then we can only blame BMW for making the X5 a cheaper, more attractive proposition over the 5-wagon.

[ovr50]

There are a few ppl who populate these forums who always prefer the wagon over the crossover; BUT, car makers want to sell to the largest market segment, and in N.America, the crossover/SUV/SAV outsells the wagons by huge margins. NAmericans generally will not buy the wagon, Europeans will and do.

[Ex-airbalancer]

Saw The girl who kicked the hornets nest" filmed in Sweden, everyone drove a wagon, not SUV in the film
Main star drove a Prius

[Sir Osis of Liver]

In the UK the 5 touring starts at £30k, and the X5 starts at £44k. Like Mercedes, the pricing they used here made no sense.

[Schmengie]

In the UK the 5 touring starts at £30k, and the X5 starts at £44k. Like Mercedes, the pricing they used here made no sense.

Well, it must make sense to someone, otherwise BMW would be out of business. If people want to pay inflated prices for a status symbol - and that's what cars like this are to most people - why should I care? Most BMWs I see around here are piloted by people who have less of a clue what their cars are capable of than I do, and I've never even been in one. I saw one old guy in a 5-Series not long ago who got himself stuck in a parking spot because he couldn't figure out his iDrive, judging from the confused look on his face.  Ah, well...

[lebowski]

In the UK the 5 touring starts at £30k, and the X5 starts at £44k. Like Mercedes, the pricing they used here made no sense.

I wonder if the weird pricing has to do with the X5 being produced here in NA, vs. the wagon being produced back in Germany?

[ovr50]

"I saw one old guy in a 5-Series not long ago who got himself stuck in a parking spot because he couldn't figure out his iDrive, judging from the confused look on his face"

That's an ignorant statement as iDrive has nothing to do with the movement of the car. No one would be "stuck in a parking spot" because of iDrive. Maybe the "old guy" would have driving issues in any vehicle?

Of course that would not perpetuate the myth that iDrive = bad. 

[Schmengie]

"I saw one old guy in a 5-Series not long ago who got himself stuck in a parking spot because he couldn't figure out his iDrive, judging from the confused look on his face"

That's an ignorant statement as iDrive has nothing to do with the movement of the car. No one would be "stuck in a parking spot" because of iDrive. Maybe the "old guy" would have driving issues in any vehicle?

Of course that would not perpetuate the myth that iDrive = bad. 

OK, maybe I said that wrong. All I was trying to say was that the driver of that BMW was so confused by the controls he obviously didn't know what to do next. He might've been trying to adjust the climate controls or whatever. I didn't mean to say that he was literally 'stuck', just that he seemed so overwhelmed he couldn't or wouldn't move the car.

I have no doubt a true enthusiast, someone who actually knows how his car works, wouldn't have a problem. Unfortuanately, not everyone who drives a BMW meets that standard, which is the point I was trying to make. No offence meant. 

[ovr50]

Schmengie - no problem now that you have clarified.